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Leigh Centurions
Leigh Centurions
Leigh Centurions are based in Leigh in Greater Manchester. The team was relegated from the Super League in the 2005 season and play in National League One. They were originally known as Leigh Rugby League Club before they adopted the Centurions moniker for the 1995-1996 season. In 2007 the club announced that they would rebrand themselves and drop the Centurions name but a huge fan backlash allowed Leigh to keep the title. Leigh Centurions were founded in 1878 and originally played at Buck's Farm in Pennington. They shifted from ground to ground until settling at Mather Lane in 1889. Leigh Centurions were also one of the founder members of the Northern Union in 1895 and the first season of the new league started badly for Leigh Centurions recording a 6-3 loss against Leeds and finishing ninth in league.
By 1906 Leigh Centurions had worked up the league to become Northern Union champions after a superb season with an 80% win rate. In fact they swept to victory with such apparent ease that lots of clubs complained they had provided themselves with an easy fixture list and for this reason play-offs were introduced. Leigh Centurions went on to futher major success in 1921 when they won the Challenge Cup against Halifax 13-0 at The Cliff in Salford. In 1934 they were the first team to play under floodlights.
During the second World War Leigh Centurions were forced to leave their ground as the local cable factory was extended over the grounds land to support the war effort. The townsfolk of Leigh cleared some fields located on the outskirks of the town and the Centurions were allowed to build a new stadium, including moving and rebuilding the old grandstand from
the original ground. In 1947 they moved to the new Kirkhall Lane headquarters and eventually some years later the ground was renamed Hilton Park after James Hilton.
Leigh Centurions were one of the first rugby league clubs to play games on a Sunday in 1954 to much opposition from the Sunday Observance lobby. The 1955-1956 season saw the beginning of the BBC Floodlit Competition with eight clubs playing and Leigh Centurions loosing out in the final to Warrington 43-18. The team went on to continued success and in 1971 Leigh Centurions played against Leeds in the Challenge Cup final and emerged victorious 24-7. In 1982 Leigh Centurions were champions for the second time thanks to a 13-4 victory at Whitehaven after a massive comeback (Leigh Centurions were flagging 4-1 at half time). Leigh Centurions won the Second Division Championship in 1985-86, losing only one league match and again in the 1988-89 season.
In modern times the team has saw success as well, in 2001 Leigh Centurions took victory over Super League competitors Salford City Reds and finished 9 points clear at the top
of the Northern Ford Premiership and claimed the Trans-Pennine Cup.
However, the team was defeated in the play-off semi-finals and Widnes
went on to win the Grand Final and a place in Super League. In the following two years Leigh Centurions saw a string of defeats in the grand finals loosing out to Huddersfield Giants and Salford City Reds respectively. In 2007 the season ended relatively badly for Leigh Centurions in a 19-6 defeat at Whitehaven. The team finished 5th in the league after a season where they proved to be very inconsistent. Injuries and suspensions were rife throughout the year forcing the team to play a number of inexperienced players.
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